Braniff Inc

A federal bankruptcy judge ordered Bank of America to release $3.5 million today to Braniff Inc. for operating expenses during the airline's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Owed $15.1 million, Bank of America became one of Braniff's secured creditors when the airline sought Chapter 11 protection Sept. 28 for the second time this decade. The bank holds $6.9 million in the airline's account. Judge C.

Braniff Inc. announced Monday it was ceasing all scheduled passenger service immediately because a severe cash shortage doomed the airline's bankruptcy reorganization plan. William G. McGee, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the action was taken to preserve assets while Braniff continues to develop alternatives, which might include selling the airline.

Braniff Inc. acknowledged in a quarterly report released Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company will likely default on payments to unsecured creditors and not make distributions to stockholders. Braniff Inc., the Orlando, Fla.-based parent company for Braniff Airlines, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last fall, and began liquidating assets to cover its $300 million in debts.

Thomas J. Voltz, marketing vice president for ailing Braniff Inc., was laid off Tuesday, and he took "Rev. Tommy Joe" with him. Voltz created the comical Southern preacher, who quoted Biblical-sounding verses from "Chapter 11 of the Book of Braniff," to inject some humor into the dismal weeks that followed Braniff's Sept. 28 bankruptcy filing, its second bankruptcy in seven years. The Orlando, Fla.-based airline has since grounded most of its fleet and has laid off 3,725 of its 4,000 workers.

Braniff Inc. announced Thursday that it will move its headquarters to Orlando from Dallas and expand support facilities in Orlando and in Kansas City to the tune of $40 million and 1,400 jobs in the next year. Kansas City will remain the airline's primary hub, Braniff Chairman William G. McGee told a news conference in Orlando. But the carrier wants to participate "in one of the most dynamic growth areas of the country" by moving its corporate base to Orlando.

A Dallas entrepreneur who tried last year to establish an airline for smokers now wants to purchase Braniff Inc., a newspaper reported today. Kay Cohlmia was to meet with representatives of the troubled carrier today, he told the Orlando Sentinel in a telephone interview. He said he has arranged financing but would not give details. Orlando-based Braniff filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 28 and has been short of cash since.

Braniff Inc. on Friday said 2,700 employees laid off when the airline sought bankruptcy protection will not receive their last paychecks. The Orlando, Fla.-based airline also announced discount fares and a limited schedule for next week. Braniff said workers who were not laid off after the airline filed for Chapter 11 protection Thursday for the second time in seven years will be paid, possibly early next week. The laid-off workers will not be paid.

A group led by the investment bank PaineWebber Group Inc. said Saturday it agreed to acquire Braniff Inc. in a leveraged buyout that valued the money-losing airline at $111 million. The investor group, BIA Acquisitions, also appointed five top executives who resigned from Piedmont Airlines on Friday to manage Braniff. "We intend for Braniff to become a strong competitive force in our nation's air travel and hospitality industries," Jeffrey R. Chodorow, a BIA official, said in a statement.